A Different Kind Of Melody
by selinenuli
Summary: an AU of what Melody's life would have been like being rescued from the Silence and growing up with her parents like a normal-ish kid.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: an AU of what Melody's life would have been like being rescued from the Silence and growing up with her parents like a normal-ish kid.**

 **PLEASE REVIEW\COMMENT. Feedback is very appreciated.**

 **A\N. So I read a lot of fics like this, and it made me want to right one of my own. If the timeline is a bit off in the later chapters, it's just because rescuing Melody changed the future.  
**

Melody Pond was scared. She was so scared, and she had no idea why.

She sat in the dark in her bed, huddled up in her thin blanket, her eyes fixed on the heavy metal door. She didn't dare to close her eyes, not even for a second. She that if she did, she'll fall asleep right away.

She didn't remember who or what she was so scared of, but she did remember they always came with the eyepatch madam.

Melody forced her eyes to stay open, but it was getting harder with every passing second. And she was terrified of falling asleep.

If she fell asleep now, when she'll wake up it will be tomorrow morning and the eyepatch madam will come to get her. She didn't want that, not at all.

Melody wanted to go home, although she had no idea where home was.

She missed her parents although she had almost to no memory of them.

And she was so, so tired. So it really didn't take much longer before her eyes stopped responding to her fears, falling shut of their own.

As she fell asleep, Melody dreamt of her mother, of her warmth and bright red hair and encourages to be brave.

You have to be brave, Melody told herself.

_

Amy was lying wide awake in bed, listening to Rory's steady breathing beside her.

She couldn't sleep. Every time she tried, she felt her daughter's weight in her arms, that little hand wrapping around her finger.

She was about to give up and turn the light on to try and read something, but was stopped by a familiar whooshing sound. She shot up in bed.

"Rory, wake up," she called, nugging her husband's shoulder then got up, grabbed her robe and run to the blue police box that was now standing in their living room.

Rory was right behind her, no less eager to find out if The Doctor had any lead on Melody.

As soon as the two Ponds stepped in the TARDIS, The Doctor was wrapping his arms around their shoulders and leading them towards the controls.

"Now listen very well, Ponds. I have a lead. Well, sort of."

Rory turned to look at him right in the eyes "Do you know where Melody is or not?"

The Doctor held up his finger, as he often does "I know where she will be. Or was, depending on your point of view." he tapped Rory's shoulder "You're gonna need your sword."

Amy rolled her eyes. She was getting impatient now. "Where, Doctor?"

"An orphanage, in New York. You've been there before, remember?"

Yes, Amy remembered. She remembered the little girl in the space suit whom she shot, the room with a small bed and a teddy bear and very few toys, the galaxy mobile hanging from the ceiling and the red lettered warnings on the walls, her own photo on the desk and the heavy metal door.

That was her daughter's room.  
That was where she spent her first few years, all alone.

Amy closed her eyes as she felt Rory's hand resting on her shoulder. "Amy, we're going to get her back."


	2. Chapter 2

This time when the TARDIS landed, she didn't make ant whooshing noise. That made Amy and Rory realize exactly how serious The Doctor was about the danger of the current situation. He even put her on invisible mode.

"Okay, come along, Ponds!" he called as he pushed the doors wide open, stepping outside. Amy and Rory hurried to follow him.

They landed inside the orphanage. it was exactly as Amy remembered it. Same red lettered warning on the walls.

"Doctor?" said Amy.  
He nodded. "Let's go find your daughter before anyone notices we're here".

They climbed up the stairs, freezing in their tracks every time it made a cracking sound beneath their feet.

The place was empty, rooms with dozen small beds that no had slept in for years. The three looked for the heavy metal door they saw the last time they were there, which they eventually found.

Amy found it was locked, and so she snatched The Doctor's screwdriver out of his hand and soniced the lock. It was simple. Just point and think.

The door opened with a heavy sound.

Slowly, Amy stepped into the room.

It was dark. As empty as all of the other rooms.

Her daughter wasn't there.

"Doctor, _where is she?_ " hissed Amy.

_

Rory looked around the room. He remembered being there this one time before, when Amy was kidnapped by the Silence.

At the time, he had no idea whose room was it. His daughter was right there in that spacesuit, and he had no idea.

He Had a chance to get her back, and yet he missed it because their timelines weren't in the right order.

Those are the consequences of travelling with The Doctor.

"The door was locked, she couldn't have gone anywhere", said Rory. Amy just glared knives at The Doctor. "I'm gonna looking the other rooms.

The Doctor hurried to follow her, but Rory lingered. Listening closely, trying to place the exact sound he thought he heard.

Fast, quiet breaths. Like a scared child trying not to be noticed.

"Melody?" called Rory.

No answer. She must be hiding, and really really scared.

Rory remembered playing hide and seek with Amy and Mels' when they were kids. Mels' always had the best hiding places.

At first, Rory looked in the closet. But she wasn't there, and so he looked under the bed.

And he met a pair of big, scared, brown eyes. His daughter's eyes, no doubt. He'd recognize these eyes anywhere.

And all of the sudden, Rory couldn't help but wonder if she had any idea who he was. If she could remember anything.  
Rory himself must have looked pretty ridiculous, dressed like a roman centurion. But maybe that was the point.

"Melody?" he whispered, and could hear her take in a shuddered breath.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you", Rory whispered in what he hoped was a reassuring voice. "I promise. How 'bout you come out, hu?"

The little girl just stared at him. Terrified.

Rory reached out a hand towards her, trying to ignore the stinging tears in his eyes. "It's okay, Melody".

He was so relieved when she crawled out from under the bed, just enough so he could easily pull her out.

For a moment the two of them just stared at each other, Melody's little hands clutching at the edges of her nightdress.

"Melody… do you know who I am?" Rory finally dared to ask.

She shrugged "A centurion." she paused, then mumbled "Like my dad." her voice so quiet he could barely hear her.

Rory watched the different expression passing on his daughter's face. Confusion, mostly. And fear. Then, a glint of surprise as she looked up at him. "Daddy?"

Rory breathed in relief, almost smiling. He could feel tears welling in his eyes as she let him wrap his arms around her in a hug.

"Okay, Melody. How 'bout we go find your mum and get you home? I'm sorry we weren't here before, but we're here now and we're not going anywhere." Rory whispered after a few moments of hugging.

He went to stand up, but the small arms wrapped around his neck didn't let go.

"Melody?"

The little girl merely buried her face in his shoulder, clinging to him as if her life depended on it. Rory half sighed half chuckled. "Okay then", he murmured, picking her up and carefully standing up.

With his daughter safely in his arms, Rory walked out of the small room to look for his wife.


	3. Chapter 3

Rory climbed through a flight of stairs and crossed a few corridors before he was able to find Amy.

She was shouting at the Doctor in hushed voices, eyes welling up with tears.

As they came closer, Melody picked her head up from his shoulder at the familiar voice. The voice she heard in her dreams, the voice from her earliest memories. The voice she heard in the back of her head every time she was scared, telling her to be brave.

Rory whispered her name, and Amy stopped talking at once, staring at the Doctor dead in the eyes before turning around.

The fire in her eyes faded out as she saw her daughter for the first time in months. "Melody," she breathed out.

Her anger at the Doctor long forgotten, Amy hurried towards her daughter and husband. She scanned Melody, to make sure it's really her and that she's really alright.

Breathing in relief, Amy embraced the little girl, taking her from Rory's arms.

Melody was sttif at first, but then relaxed at the familiar feeling of her mother's arms.

It was the safest she ever felt.

Maybe that's what home was like.

Melody will probably find out soon, or so she hoped.

"Mummy?" she whispered, her voice quiet and hopeful.

She felt her mother's arms tighten around her. "I'm right here, Melody. And I'm not going anywhere ever, ever again."

Melody took in a deep breath, her face buried in Amy's red hair. She was trying really hard not to cry, but felt the tears rolling down her cheeks nonetheless.  
Melody's father looked like he was about to cry, too, so maybe it was to cry.

Looking over her mother's shoulder, Melody pointed at the silly looking man standing behind her. "Who are you?"

Amy inhaled deeply "He's a very good friend of ours. And he deserves an apology."

She put Melody down but still kept a hand on her shoulder, scared the little girl might disappear at any given second.

"I'm sorry, Doctor," she said in a soft voice, an apologetic look on her face "I shouldn't have blamed you for what happened to Melody, that wasn't right of me. Nothing of what happened was your fault".

The Doctor, usually cherry and childlike, looked at her with sad eyes "It's okay, Pond. Let's get you all home, shall we?"

_

As the silly Doctor and her mum talked, Melody turned to look around at her surroundings. It was dark, and she didn't like it. Not at all.

She couldn't see well in the dark, and she had that feeling, like something was watching her.

Her little fingers tightened around Amy's hand.

"I don't like it here…" she whispered, turning to look behind her.

And there they were. The scary white creatures Melody was so afraid of but for some reason couldn't quite remember.

The creatures snarled, reaching their arms out for her, and Melody screamed.

At the sound of his daughter's terrified scream, Rory moved to stand in front of her. Soon all she could see was his red cape, covering her sight.

"Doctor!" called Amy, but he was already holding his sonic up in the air, and before they knew it the familiar blue box appears around the four of them in a loud whooshing sound.

Melody covered her ears with her hands "What is that sound?" she cried.

Amy covered her daughter's small hands with her own. "Make it stop!" she hissed.

Before the Doctor could act the sound faded out into a soft humming, the TARDIS sensing the child's distress.

As soon as she calmed down, Melody took the time to look around the bigger-on-the-inside space. "It's - "

"Bigger on the inside?" suggested the Doctor with a grin.

Melody shrugged and shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips "It's alive".

"It's a she, you know".

Melody nodded distractilly. Then she looked up at Amy "Are we going home now?"

Both her parents looked at the Doctor in question.  
 **_**

They couldn't go home, the Doctor said, not yet. Meanwhile he ran some checks and did some "things" to make sure no one was following them.

Melody was getting tired, her eyes falling shut.  
It has been a very emotional day for her.

She sat down on one of the comfy chairs in the consol room. She was still trying to stay awake, but the TARDIS soft humming was making it difficult.

Then her dad came to sit next to her, and Melody curled up closer to him and let her eyes close.


	4. Chapter 4

Melody woke up in a bed that wasn't hers, in a room she didn't recognize. It felt warm and cozy under the covers, and _safe_. It was so different than her old room at the orphanage.

The little girl shot up to a sitting position, suddenly remembering all the events of the previous night. Her parents, the silly Doctor, the TARDIS.

 _Was this her parents' house?_ Melody asked herself, looking around.

She slowly and carefully stood up from the bed, her bare feet hitting the cold floor. She dragged the blanket with her to wrap around her shoulders, like a cape. It was deep red, just like her father's centurion cape.

She walked to the door and rested her head against it, trying to hear if there was anyone on the other side. If there was, Melody couldn't hear them.  
She stepped outside and started making her way down the stairs, the blanket trailing on the floor behind her.

It wasn't dark anymore, so Melody assumed it was morning. When she got downstairs she could hear talking, and followed the voices to the kitchen, where she found both her parents.

They were talking in hushed voices, Amy leaning against the counter while Rory was cooking something. Probably breakfast.

"Mom?" Melody said quietly, and they both spun around to look at her. Amy instantly smiled. "Melody," she breathed.  
"Did you sleep well?" Rory asked.

Melody nodded. She walked over to them and hugged Amy tight.  
She was a little scared last night has been nothing but a dream. But it wasn't. Those were her parents, this was her home. Whatever that meant.

Amy chuckled and hugged her daughter back, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. "Good morning, sweetheart. Are you hungry?"

Melody nodded, stepping back and looking up at her father "What are you making?"  
She came closer and stood on the tips of her toes to look.

"You wanna see?"

Melody nodded, and her dad picked her up and set her on the counter so she could see what he was doing.

_

By the time breakfast was ready, the silly Doctor was there as well. Melody wasn't really sure what was his place in this scenario, but he was funny. She liked him, even though he seemed to be more of s child than she ever got the chance to be.

When he first came in and saw the pancakes, he pulled out something that looked a bit like a magic wand, scanned Melody's plate, and only then sat down and started eating of his own.

Melody stared at him with utter confusion. "Was that a sonic thingy?"

He looked at her with a somewhat proud look "Yes it is."

"What is it?"

"A screwdriver, of course."

Melody pursed her lips together "That's stupid. And completely useless."

The Doctor gave her an offended look, his mouth hanging half open. Melody kept staring at him, waiting to see what he had to say to defend himself.

Looking at that interaction, Amy tried but failed to hide her laughter.

"Oi, Pond!" complained the Doctor, which only made Amy's laugh grow. Melody looked between the two of them, then up at her dad. He smiled and reached a hand to ruffle her hair.

She smiled and kept eating her pancakes. It was much better than any food she ever got at the orphanage.

Between snippets of conversations and plans for the day and talking, Melody hesitantly asked a question that's been bugging her for a while. "Are we gonna be like a normal family now?"

Everyone paused in whatever it was they were doing. Amy took a deep breath and glanced at Rory, before returning her attention to Melody.  
"Normal is a very relative term, sweetheart. You're going to stay with us, and we want to give you as much of a normal childhood as possible. But the most important thing is that you're staying with us, and we are never ever going to live you again. Okay?"

Melody nodded, then paused "Am I gonna go to school?"

"You will, but not yet."

Melody nodded and shrugged "Okay."  
It sounded good, actually. Partly because she had no idea what a 'normal' family was like. But she knew for sure that she wanted to stay with her parents. No matter what.


End file.
